Supporting documents and references

All documents that must be received (mandatory documents) before your application is assessed will be listed in this table with their status. If you have uploaded any documents via the Self-Service portal that, after checking, do not meet our requirements, they will be marked as ‘rejected’ with the reason provided.

This table will show the details of non-mandatory documents that you have uploaded eg an English Language Test Result, and also details of mandatory documents that have been uploaded via the Self-Service portal and are either still to be checked or that have been rejected.

When you first upload a new document via Self-Service, the status of the document will show as ‘Uploaded - pending check’. Once a mandatory document has been checked, the status of your document will - if it meets our requirements - be updated to ‘Received’. At this point, mandatory documents will be moved to the 'Mandatory Document Details' table. Non-mandatory documents which have been checked and meet our requirements will not show a status against them, and will be moved to the ‘Other document details’ table.

If a document you have uploaded does not meet our requirements, it will be marked as 'rejected' with the reason provided. Please note that it may take some time to check documents, particularly around application deadlines when this may take 2-3 weeks, so please refer back to the Supporting Documents page in the Self-Service portal in a few days rather than contacting Graduate Admissions. For further information on deadlines and the processing of applications, consult the Graduate Admissions website.

Please note that it may take some time to check documents, particularly around application deadlines when this may take 2-3 weeks, so please refer back to the Supporting Documents page in the Self-Service portal in a few days rather than contacting Graduate Admissions. For further information on deadlines and the processing of applications, consult the Graduate Admissions website.

This will show under Mandatory document details only. This status will display if the requirements for this mandatory document has been waived, ie does not need to be supplied.

This would only show under Mandatory document details. This means a document was not received (or a newly uploaded document has not been checked yet), see below for information on how to upload a new supporting document.

This will show under Mandatory document details only. This means the document has been received but not yet checked.

This will show under Mandatory document details and means that the document has been received and approved.

This will show under Mandatory document details and means that the document must be re-supplied as it did not meet our requirements.

This will show when a document is deemed unsatisfactory and a reason for this will be stated. You will be able to view a PDF of the document which has been rejected so you can check the issue. For example, a transcript will be rejected if it does not show the name of the institution it was issued by or your name. A piece of written work will be rejected if it does not meet the specifications on the course page, for example because it exceeds the word count set by the department or you are listed as a co-author with no explanation as to your contribution.

Full details of the requirements for supporting documents are available on the relevant course page and in the Application Guide.

For instructions on how to upload a new supporting document, see below.

This will only show under Uploaded document details (not checked yet) for documents which have been uploaded via Self-Service which have not yet been checked.

When uploading a document that has previously been uploaded , the original will be automatically removed/replaced, except for transcripts and test scores, where multiple documents will be retained on your application. You must ensure that you upload any missing documents before the application deadline for the course you are applying for.

Please do not upload any documents that are not required to support your application, such as a degree certificate or photograph.

Once your application is ready for assessment, you will only be able to upload transcripts and/or English language test results. After this point, you will not be able to upload updated versions of the following:

• CV (if a separate one is required for your course)
• written work
• research proposal
• statement of purpose/personal statement

If you upload replacement documents after the deadline (excluding transcripts and language test scores), we will reject them, as accepting them would change the completion date of your application and result in your application being marked as late and not considered by the academic department. If your application was incomplete at the deadline, we will accept outstanding documents if they meet our requirements, but this will not change the status of your application and for this reason it is unlikely to be assessed by the academic department. If a later separate deadline is in operation for the course to which you are applying, your application will become complete for that deadline. 

Once a decision has been made on your application, no further documents can be uploaded.

You can use Self-Service to re-send a reference notification or to change a referee’s email address if it was entered incorrectly. You can also add a new referee if one of your original referees is not able to fulfil the request. We strongly recommend that you contact your referees before sending or re-sending a request.

Graduate applications will be considered ready for assessment once two of the references have been submitted, as well as all the other required documents. Note that the third reference may still be required later by the academic department before they confirm their decision. It will not adversely affect assessment of your application if you have unsubmitted references, as long as at least two have been submitted.

To check whether references have been submitted for your application, use the Manage Referees button for the application.

In the Referee Details table, the right-hand column will show whether the reference has been submitted.

For any referees that have not yet completed your reference you will be given the option to:

• Send a reminder reference request email (Resend Reference Request)
• Edit the referee’s email address (Edit Referee Email)
• Add another referee (Add Referee)

You will only be able to send one reminder email per day to each referee as the button will be disabled once the reminder has been sent. The maximum number of referees that you can register for your application is six.

Please note that references submitted to [email protected] by your referee can only be added to your application after it has been submitted, and therefore there may be a delay in the status of these references changing to ‘received’.

How to add an additional referee

Select the ‘Self-Service’ button for the application you would like to add a referee to, then use the ‘Manage Referees’ button. From this page use the ‘Add Referee’ button. You will be prompted to fill out the mandatory details for the new referee. Once you have checked these details, use the ‘Save’ button so that a reference request email will be sent to the email address you registered for the additional referee.

How to correct a referee’s details

You can see a list of the referees you have registered by using the ‘Manage Referees’ button. From this page, use the ‘Edit Referee Email’ button. You will then be able to edit the referee’s email address and reference deadline date. Once you select ‘Save’, a reference request email will be sent to the amended email address for the referee.